Scratch card instructions
Each square hides an
amount of money: £1, £10,
£20 or £100.
3 of the squares hide the
same amount of money.
Scratch off 3 squares. If
the amounts match, you
win that amount.
Questions
•What is the probability of winning?
What’s new about GCSE from
2010?
New national curriculum
• New national curriculum programme of
study is statutory for teaching in KS4 from
September 2010.
• The new national curriculum emphasises
process rather than content.
1
How will GCSE Mathematics
change for teaching from 2010?
• Different assessment objectives.
• Greater emphasis on mathematical
reasoning and problem solving.
• Incorporation of functional aspects of
mathematics; GCSE Mathematics must
allocate 20-30% on higher tier and 30-40%
on foundation tier for the functional
elements of mathematics.
What stays the same?
• GCSE continues to be available at either
Foundation or Higher tier.
• It will be entirely externally assessed.
• There will continue to be a non-calculator
assessment but this need not be 50% of
the total.
Non-calculator assessment
• Current GCSE criteria: “A weighting of 50% of
the overall assessment must be allocated to
assessments in which candidates may not use a
calculator. A weighting of 50% of the
assessment must be allocated to assessments
in which candidates are permitted to use a
calculator.”
• New GCSE criteria: “Each scheme of
assessment must allocate a minimum weighting
of 25 per cent, and a maximum weighting of 50
per cent, to assessment without a calculator.”
2
Much the same
• There is no requirement to have specific
percentages of marks on number, algebra,
geometry and statistics but the papers still
have to cover the content of the
specification.
• There is no requirement to have specific
percentages of marks targeted at
particular grades but there will still be a
range of difficulty of questions.
Quality of Written Communication
• GCSE qualification criteria say that
GCSEs must “assess the candidates'
quality of written communication in
accordance with the guidance
documentation produced by the
regulators”.
• Questions assessing this are denoted by
an asterisk next to the question number.
The New Assessment Objectives
Assessment objectives
Weighting (%)
recall and use their knowledge of
AO1 the prescribed content
45–55
select and apply mathematical
AO2 methods in a range of contexts
25–35
interpret and analyse problems and
AO3 generate strategies to solve them.
15–25
3
Piloting of twin GCSEs
• Piloting starts for teaching from Sept 2010.
• AQA, Edexcel and OCR will each be
piloting.
• "Applications of Mathematics" (focuses on
the application of mathematics in a wide
range of real world contexts)
• "Methods in Mathematics" (focuses on
rigour and the coherent nature of
mathematics)
Two GCSEs
• Students will be entered for both GCSEs.
• It is not the intention that the GCSEs are taught
as separate courses.
• There is some additional content compared to
the single GCSE.
• During the pilot, achievement of a grade C or
above in either of the pilot GCSEs or the single
award GCSE will count towards five GCSEs at
grades A*–C, including English and
mathematics.
• Further information on MEI, QCDA and exam
board websites.
Useful resources
• Exam board websites
• AQA GCSE Problem-Solving Questions,
2008 - Additional Mathematics
• www.nrich.maths.org (for teachers)
• www.mei.org.uk (resources section)
• http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/14/10/3870
9418.pdf (released items from PISA)
• http://teamat.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/
28/1/21.pdf (Open start maths problems)
4